Ethics Commission lawyer on administrative leave

ATLANTA (AP) -- The lawyer for a state ethics commission attorney says she is on administrative leave.

Brian Sutherland says his client, Georgia ethics commission staff attorney Elisabeth Murray-Obertein, is addressing a medical condition while on leave. He said in a brief statement to The Associated Press that he can't comment further because of the sensitive and private nature of medical concerns.

Ethics commission chairman Kevin Abernethy told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Murray-Obertein was placed on the administrative leave, but he would not comment further.

Murray-Obertein is a key witness in a pair of lawsuits focused on the commission's handling of 2010 ethics complaints against Gov. Nathan Deal.

Separately, Murray-Obertein is set to appear before a federal grand jury next week to produce commission documents related to the Deal complaints.